Voter turnout under 12 percent

BLOUNTVILLE - Less than 12 percent of registered voters in Bristol, Tenn., Bluff City and Kingsport cast ballots in city elections Tuesday, according to unofficial results released by the Sullivan County Election Commission.

Some details from those unofficial results:

•Turnout in Kingsport averaged about 11.8 percent, with 2,909 of 24,644 eligible voters casting ballots to elect a majority of the Model City's elected officials - the mayor, three aldermen, and three members of the Kingsport Board of Education.

•Of the 2,909 who voted in the Kingsport election, 1,341 - or about 46 percent - did so either by early or absentee ballot.

•Precinct 11S, voting at the Kingsport Civic Auditorium, provided the single largest source of votes in the Kingsport election: 889 ballots were cast by voters registered there, about 30.5 percent of the Model City's overall turnout.

•Among candidates for Kingsport alderman, Larry Munsey carried that precinct, with 666 votes. Munsey was the top vote-getter among candidates for alderman - 2,178 total - and carried more than half the city's precincts, with voters in 11S providing him the most votes of any precinct.

•The top vote-getter on Kingsport's ballot Tuesday was Wallace Boyd Jr., winning re-election to the Kingsport Board of Education with 2,475 votes. Like Munsey, Boyd garnered his highest number of votes from Precinct 11S - 772 votes in his favor from 889 ballots cast by 11S voters.

•As a percentage of registered voters, turnout was highest for Kingsport's election at Pre- cinct 11T, voting at Trader's Village. More than 17.7 percent of the nearly 4,500 voters registered there cast ballots - more than half by early or absentee ballot.

•The 11.8 percent of Kingsport voters who did turn out favored incumbents in Tuesday's election: the six top vote-getters were all seeking re-election. Boyd got support from more than 85 percent of Kingsporters who voted; Mayor Dennis Phillips, unopposed, received about 83.2 percent. Susan Lodal was re-elected to the Board of Education with votes from about 78.9 percent of those who voted; while Randy Montgomery won re-election to the BOE with more than 75.6 percent of the vote. Munsey, the top vote-getting alderman, won re-election with about 74.9 percent of voters.

casting ballots in his favor; Alderman Ken Marsh got votes from about 66.4 percent of those who cast ballots.